A winner again, Els brings focus to autism
March 15, 2010
DORAL, Fla. (AP)—This is one time the party got started without Ernie Els.
As he walked off the 18th green with a four-shot victory in the CAChampionship, ending the longest and most discouraging drought of his career,some well-heeled friends were at cocktail party up the road at PGA National toget ready for a tournament no less important than the World Golf Championshipthat Els won at Doral.
The Big Easy spent Monday playing and hosting the “Els for Autism CharityPro-Am,” with a lineup of stars that included Jack Nicklaus, Steve Stricker,Raymond Floyd, Adam Scott and Robert Allenby.
His goal, as ambitious as winning the career Grand Slam, is to raise enoughmoney to build a 30,000-square-foot center in Palm Beach County that eventuallywould be self-sustaining and treat some 300 children who have autism.
That would include his son, 7-year-old Ben, with his big blue eyes and blondhair.
“People pay quite a bit of money to play,” Els said of a pro-am thatraised $500,000 a year ago. “And obviously, that money goes straight into theEls for Autism Foundation. Our plan is, with this money and the help ofinvestors, to build a really worthwhile center. … In this environment,obviously things are a little difficult to raise money.”
He had gone 54 tournaments worldwide without a victory, and it is littlemore than a coincidence that the longest stretch without winning in his careercame right after going public that Ben was autistic.
Els and his wife, Leizl, had known for a couple of years that the youngestof their two children had autism. It was only in 2008, after winning the HondaClassic, that he wanted the world to know, realizing that Els’ stature in sportscould only help raise awareness.
As for the struggles with his golf? That was a battle for Els alone.
He had a couple of close calls, although none in the majors, the most recentin Shanghai when he was 10 under for his round and had a one-shot lead when hetried a heroic shot over the pond—a cut 5-wood to take some distance off froma downhill like—and duffed it, making a bogey and settling for second place.
“I don’t think the motivation was lacking,” Els said. “I just think thatI went about it the wrong way. I was almost chasing my own tail a little bit. Iwas not looking after the smaller things. I was looking at the whole big pictureon Thursday morning—‘Oh, I’m going to win the golf tournament’—and it takesfour days of good play. It takes strategy. It takes mental strength. It takespatience.
“And I kind of let that all out of the window.”
It might have seemed as though the window was closing when Els turned 40last year, a reminder of dwindling days.
After a sluggish start to the year, he began working harder than ever. Afterleaving PGA National at the Honda Classic on the weekend, he stopped off at theBear’s Club to hit balls. When the tournament was over, he was back at Nicklaus’club each day until twilight, searching for the right ball flight.
He found it in sharing the 54-hole lead with Charl Schwartzel, his25-year-old protege from South Africa. Although Els looked wobbly coming downthe stretch Saturday afternoon by missing short putts, he was practicallyflawless on Sunday.
Els played bogey-free in the final round for a 6-under 66, with only two badmisses. He hooked one tee on No. 6, then played around the tree and laggedbeautifully from 70 feet to get his par. On the 14th, the pivotal hole at Doral,he again went left and clipped a palm tree, leaving him in the rough and unableto get at the flag.
He pitched on 25 feet right of the hole, hopeful of taking a bogey andmoving on. With a one-stroke lead about to be erased, however, Els made the parputt on the last turn and was on his way.
“There’s always a turning point,” Schwartzel said. “And it’s amazing. Youcan just see it. When he knocked it in, I just sort of thought to myself, ‘Don’tlet this be the turning point.’ But in the back of your mind … that was bigfor him, for his confidence.”
Els’ daughter, 10-year-old Samantha, followed him on the weekend. With somuch attention on Ben, he is mindful that Samantha gets equal time. She loves torun over to the side of the ropes as her father walks by, making sure he seesher.
Els said Ben is still a few years away from grasping why so many arecheering for his father, the significance of a blue trophy that was the 17th onthe PGA Tour for Els, and his 61st win worldwide.
Still, the Big Easy said his boy would watch the video. He knows golf.
“He loves watching me practice,” Els said. “When I’m at the Bear’s Club,he always comes out and gets on the range and watches me play. He tries to hit acouple of shots himself. He just loves being on the golf course with me. Yeah,we’ll show him the tape. I think he’ll get excited about it. I think it will beanother couple of years before he understands what we’ve done, but that’s noproblem.”
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